Image: 

New Zealand’s top rally driver Hayden Paddon and his co-driver John Kennard are looking forward to tackling the challenges of rallying on snow for the first time as their 2012 campaign starts in Sweden next week.

Paddon, now based in Montgat, Spain, and Kennard, from Blenheim, commence their challenge to win the 2012 FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship at Rally Sweden, which runs from 9 to 12 February.

Paddon says he’s very excited by the prospect of competing on snow for the first time in his ASM Motorsports-prepared Skoda Fabia S2000 rally car. more...

Image: 

The 2012 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) season kicks off this evening with the start of the legendary Rallye Monte-Carlo, the opening round of the series.

Making a welcome return to the WRC, this famous rally has attracted an entry of 85 crews, including the registered FIA Super 2000 and Production Car World Rally Championship contenders, and looks set to provide spectacular action over the coming five days. more...

Image: 

PROTON Motorsports begins its bid for FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship glory on next week’s Rallye Monte-Carlo.

After dominating last year’s FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, where PROTON won both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles, the Malaysian manufacturer arrives at one of world motorsport’s most iconic events for a legendary, five-day race through mountains to the principality of Monte Carlo.

The PROTON Motorsports team will field two Satria-Neo S2000s for Rallye Monte-Carlo (January 18-22), the first of seven SWRC rounds it will contest this season. more...

Image: 

The FIA has introduced a number of regulation changes for the 2012 World Rally Championship season with the aim of helping to reduce costs while raising the sporting challenge and increasing media coverage. The following is a summary of the changes enacted: more...

Image: 

Hayden Paddon, the Kiwi Production World Rally champion is excited to be starting a new chapter in his rallying career as he prepares to depart for Spain next week.

The down-to-earth 24-year-old from Geraldine will soon be living in the coastal town of Montgat to the north of Barcelona, not far from his new team ASM Motorsport, which has built and will run the Skoda Fabia S2000 rally car Paddon will pilot in the 2012 FIA Super 2000 World Rally Championship. more...

Image: 

2011 Bosch Australian Rally Champions (ARC), Justin Dowel and Matt Lee, will not defend their national title in 2012, and will instead focus on developing a new car for the 2013 championship season.

With the ARC switching to a two-wheel drive championship this year, the Activ RallySport pairing have made the tough decision to take most of the year off, rather than rushing in to a title defence in a new and unproven car.

Dowel will also devote more time to his business, Natures Organics, in which Lee is the Operations Manager. more...

Image: 

Simon Jean-Joseph has today confirmed a collaboration with M-Sport Ltd. to support Yazeed Al-Rajhi behind the wheel of a Ford Fiesta RS Regional Rally Car (RRC) in the 2012 edition of the WRC’s official support series, the S-WRC.

Al-Rajhi, who secured victory on every round he entered in the FIA’s Middle East Rally Championship back in 2010, has shown consistent improvement throughout 2011 in various events throughout Europe. more...

Image: 

Last Friday, the FIA served notice to terminate its contract with North One Sport, the Promoter of the FIA World Rally Championship.

The FIA sought urgent unequivocal assurances from NOS that it could fulfill its contractual obligations and deliver the promotion of the upcoming Rally Monte Carlo and the Championship for 2012 and for the future. more...

Image: 

Monster World Rally Team driver Ken Block had an extremely busy 2011 season and this video gives a taste of just how wild it was. From WRC testing footage to bonus Gymkhana FOUR clips to crazy moments from his Gymkhana World Tour and his appearances at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, Block rarely let off the throttle.

Now, with the year coming to a close, everyone’s favorite Hoonigan has put together a compilation video of some of his most exciting moments from the 2011 season, all captured entirely with GoPro video cameras. more...

Image: 

PROTON Motorsports has announced it will contest the Super 2000 World Rally Championship in 2012 in addition to a full defence of its multiple FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship titles.

Scotsman Alister McRae will lead the APRC attack, defending the drivers’ title he won at the wheel of a Satria Neo S2000 last month. McRae will be joined in the APRC by two-time Junior World Rally Champion P-G Andersson (Sweden). more...